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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hand — help
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. safe — out of danger

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