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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — a video
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — army training
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — a contest
  18. drill — a practice

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