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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — a video
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cue — for pool
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — size or range
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. hand — in cards
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. clip — to cut
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cue — a signal

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