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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spell — magic
  6. clip — to cut
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. game — a match
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. clip — a video

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