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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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. swing — to play on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. swing — in golf
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. saw — the tool

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