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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: safe · firm · wound · clip · file · race · bound · kick

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. file — a document
  3. kick — in football
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bound — certain
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wound — an injury
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bound — obliged
  15. clip — a video
  16. firm — steady
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. race — humankind
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. firm — a company
  21. file — a line of people
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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