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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — a video
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spring — of water
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spell — magic
  12. root — of a word
  13. clip — to cut
  14. last — final
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. spell — letters
  18. bark — to shout
  19. root — the cause
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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