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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I've got the luggage 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. clip — for paper
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. branch — a division
  5. clip — to cut
  6. track — a path
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. track — a song
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — to handle
  24. trunk — of a car

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