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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: spell · date · wind · snap · safe · present · trunk · clip

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — to cut
  6. present — a gift
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. spell — letters
  9. snap — to click
  10. present — there
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — the time now
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. date — the fruit
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  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