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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mate — a friend
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chip — to eat
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spell — magic
  9. mate — a partner
  10. band — a music group
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — a short time
  13. band — a ring
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. race — a contest
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — to breed
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spell — letters
  24. race — humankind

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