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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 120 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: kick · straw · dip · safe · content · rule · fan · clip

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. dip — to sink
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. content — the amount
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — a video
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — in football
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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