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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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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. sharp — clever
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ground — the earth
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. ground — crushed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — to cut

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