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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.

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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: safe · net · bay · mark · clip · straw · field · bat

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — the animal
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. field — farmland
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — for sport
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — to cut
  21. net — for catching
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — for paper
  24. safe — out of danger

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