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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spell — magic
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — letters
  15. fine — all right
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. swing — in golf
  18. safe — out of danger

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