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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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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 · board · clip · bat · bay · cold · pit · hide

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. clip — a video
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. pit — a hole
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — an illness
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. board — a committee
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. cold — not warm
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. hide — to keep secret

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