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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: mate · cold · rock · wave · clip · safe · chest · bay

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. chest — a box
  10. rock — a stone
  11. clip — a video
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cold — an illness
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chest — of your body

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