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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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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: safe · shower · bay · chip · wake · bat · spring · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spring — a coil
  8. shower — rain
  9. chip — for betting
  10. spring — the season
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. chip — to eat
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. clip — a video
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. spring — of water

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