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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — the animal
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spell — letters
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spell — a short time
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. ground — a position
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chair — a leader

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