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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: object · face · safe · last · chest · land · band · clip

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — to cut
  3. band — a ring
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. face — to point toward
  6. object — an aim
  7. land — ground
  8. last — final
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — a thing
  12. face — to confront
  13. object — to protest
  14. land — a country
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a music group
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — a box
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — a video

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