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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: shower · firm · bat · branch · safe · toast · clip · bound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. clip — for paper
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. clip — a video
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bat — the animal
  11. firm — steady
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. branch — a division
  17. firm — a company
  18. bound — certain
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. firm — decided
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. safe — out of danger

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