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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: safe · clip · mine · squash · saw · stem · row · wake

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. squash — the sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. row — a line
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — to paddle
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. squash — the vegetable

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