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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. 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 — out of danger
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a music group
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — for sport
  9. can — a tin
  10. clip — for paper
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. field — farmland
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. band — a ring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — a coil
  21. snap — to click
  22. can — to be able to
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. 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