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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: straw · content · cap · drill · bank · safe · fan · bat

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — of ice
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bank — of a river
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fan — to cool the air

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