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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cell — in biology
  4. drill — the tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. clip — a video
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. capital — money
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — a phone
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. drill — a practice
  16. charge — a price
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. charge — in control
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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