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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: suit · last · cold · safe · craft · content · court · hand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. hand — in cards
  6. suit — clothes
  7. cold — not warm
  8. suit — to fit
  9. hand — help
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — an illness
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. suit — in cards
  17. last — to go on
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. last — finally
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. court — of law

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