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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pound — a weight
  5. ground — the earth
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. date — the fruit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. clip — a video
  22. ground — crushed
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. safe — a strongbox

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