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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — a city
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — money
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — the tool

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