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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — a video
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. swing — in golf
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. clip — to cut
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. mine — for digging
  9. firm — a company
  10. last — finally
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. swing — to play on
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. firm — steady
  17. swing — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. firm — decided
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fork — in a road
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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