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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chest — of your body
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mug — to rob
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spell — magic
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mug — a face
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chest — a box
  18. mug — a cup
  19. season — of the year
  20. clip — for paper
  21. season — in sport
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. mouse — the animal

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