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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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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 · cold · cap · trunk · saw · race · safe · swing

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — an illness
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. swing — to play on
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. cap — a hat
  8. content — the amount
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. cap — a lid
  17. saw — the tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cap — of ice
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. race — a contest
  22. swing — music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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