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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — a box
  12. swing — music
  13. mate — a friend
  14. swing — to play on
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — of the year
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. swing — in golf
  24. season — in sport

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