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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chair — to sit on

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