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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 120 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: content · bat · safe · wind · season · board · stem · ball

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — happy
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a dance
  7. board — to get on
  8. season — in sport
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ball — a great time
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. board — a committee
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bat — the animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — of the year
  24. bat — for baseball

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