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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — letters
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — a short time
  13. swing — music
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. swing — in golf
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. hide — to keep secret

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