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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: chair · safe · face · clip · scale · spring · bass · roll

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — to confront
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — in music
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the fish
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — of water
  17. roll — a list
  18. chair — a leader
  19. roll — a cake
  20. spring — a coil
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. face — part of the head

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