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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · rest · pound · clip · safe · key · sharp · bat

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. hand — in cards
  3. key — the most important part
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. key — in music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — for a lock
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. sharp — clever

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