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

Word bank: clip · fine · safe · wind · cell · press

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. 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. cell — in a prison
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — a publisher
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. press — to push
  8. cell — in biology
  9. clip — a video
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fine — all right
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — a phone
  16. press — newspapers
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. 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