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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: court · hand · band · tube · can · safe · last · content

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. court — for sport
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. content — happy
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — the amount
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. court — of a king
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. band — a music group
  12. last — finally
  13. can — to be able to
  14. last — final
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hand — in cards
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a ring
  19. tube — a container
  20. can — a tin
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — help
  23. tube — the underground
  24. can — a tin

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