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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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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: scale · safe · shower · key · kid · fall · clip · net

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. net — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — in music
  5. kid — child
  6. scale — size or range
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fall — the season
  9. net — after costs
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — in music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — to drop
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — rain
  22. net — for catching
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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