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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — child
  12. staff — employees
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. saw — the tool
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. clip — a video
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — clever
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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