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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — in a road
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to click
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tube — a container
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. court — of law
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — of a king
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hand — help
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. tube — the underground

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