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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 124 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — to rip
  7. present — there
  8. court — of law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — of a king
  13. wake — a trail
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. present — a gift
  21. court — for sport
  22. present — the time now
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — to cut

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