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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 · mug · saw · squash · safe · field · spring · hand

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mug — to rob
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mug — a cup
  9. spring — the season
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — help
  13. field — farmland
  14. mug — a face
  15. saw — the tool
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — child
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  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