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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — a practice
  5. can — to be able to
  6. race — humankind
  7. clip — a video
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. drill — army training
  10. march — the month
  11. can — a tin
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — the animal
  14. march — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — the tool
  17. race — a contest
  18. can — a tin

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