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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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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: bear · cold · pit · safe · drill · key · root · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bear — the animal
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. content — happy
  6. root — the cause
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bear — the animal
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — a practice
  14. key — in music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — a hole
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. drill — army training
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. root — of a plant

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