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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · bowl · safe · chest · staff · chair

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — a leader
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. staff — employees
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chest — of your body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chest — a box
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bowl — a football final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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