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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: safe · saw · bass · field · hand · stem · content · row

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bass — low music
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. saw — the tool
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — a subject
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — help
  18. field — for sport
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bass — the fish
  22. content — happy
  23. stem — to come from
  24. safe — out of danger

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