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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: clip · fine · safe · wind · cell · press · saw · perch

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — to cut
  10. press — to push
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fine — high quality
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fine — all right
  20. cell — a phone
  21. saw — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. clip — a video

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