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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 120 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: saw · row · clip · wound · wave · safe · chair · face

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. face — to confront
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. clip — to cut
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a line

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