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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — to cut
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chair — a leader
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — a safe
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — for paper
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. land — a country
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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