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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. swing — music
  4. file — a line of people
  5. swing — in golf
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. swing — to play on
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. file — a document
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. court — of law
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — for paper
  22. drill — a practice
  23. file — a tool
  24. drill — army training

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