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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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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: safe · hand · saw · stick · chair · stand · net · content

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stand — to bear
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — happy
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — a leader
  16. saw — the tool
  17. net — for catching
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. net — after costs
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. net — in sport

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