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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · cabinet · wind · straw · spring · safe · dip · content

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com