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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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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: bat · safe · cap · clip · ground · perch · bass · arm

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bass — low music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cap — a hat
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bass — the fish
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — a video
  22. ground — a position
  23. cap — a lid
  24. arm — part of the 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