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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: game · perch · saw · content · safe · drill · tube · spring

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — the fish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — army training
  19. tube — the underground
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — a coil
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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