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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: board · file · land · clip · cell · kid · safe · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — a phone
  7. board — a committee
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. clip — for paper
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — a video
  16. land — to come down
  17. clip — to cut
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. chair — a leader
  23. board — to get on
  24. chair — a professorship

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