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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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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 · spell · trunk · straw · field · safe · content · charge

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. content — the amount
  7. spell — a short time
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. spell — letters
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. charge — in control
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spell — magic
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — for sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mine — for digging
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. charge — a price
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. field — a subject

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