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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: swing · safe · roll · mouse · mine · kid · snap · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. snap — to click
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. swing — to play on
  22. roll — a cake
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. roll — a list

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