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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 116 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: kid · season · hand · content · file · saw · safe · tear

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. season — in sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — happy
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. content — the amount
  14. tear — to rip
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. kid — to tease
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tear — from crying
  21. season — of the year
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. saw — the tool

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