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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — a grade
  3. clip — a video
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. vault — a safe
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — the animal
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. content — happy
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bat — for baseball

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