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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — a position
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — the earth
  11. root — of a plant
  12. race — humankind
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — to cut
  15. race — a contest
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — a subject
  18. ground — crushed

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