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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: mine · hand · court · tube · foot · land · safe · content

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — the amount
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tube — the underground
  12. foot — a measure
  13. hand — help
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. court — for sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. land — a country
  23. court — of law
  24. hand — in cards

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