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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.

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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: mug · clip · wound · safe · wind · fall · club · kick

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — a face
  8. club — a group
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mug — to rob
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — for golf
  19. kick — in football
  20. mug — a cup
  21. fall — the season
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — a thrill

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