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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 116 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 works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for golf
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mate — a friend
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. row — a line
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. club — a group
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. mate — a partner
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mug — a cup
  19. club — for dancing
  20. mug — a face
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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