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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — boats
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — rain
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tube — a container
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — to cut
  18. squash — to crush
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tube — the underground

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