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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — a video
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. clip — to cut
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. deal — to handle
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. racket — for tennis

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