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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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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 · swing · arm · stand · race · row · fork · clip

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. race — a contest
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. race — humankind
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. swing — music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — for paper
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — a line
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. swing — to play on
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fork — in a road
  23. clip — a video
  24. stand — to bear

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