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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · last · bass · content · file · safe · club · mine

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — for dancing
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — for golf
  6. bass — the fish
  7. saw — the tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. file — a document
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. club — a group
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. file — a tool
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. mine — for digging
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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