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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — the amount
  6. capital — a city
  7. content — happy
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — to cut
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — money
  24. safe — out of danger

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