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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: bark · clip · chair · root · saw · ball · safe · game

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. root — of a plant
  10. game — a match
  11. bark — to shout
  12. clip — for paper
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chair — a leader
  21. root — the cause
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the tool

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