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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. clip — to cut
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cap — of ice
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. kick — in football
  8. branch — a division
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. row — a line
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. row — to paddle

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