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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. shower — to wash
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a trace
  13. shower — rain
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chest — a box
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — of your body

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