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

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — help
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. chest — a box
  10. pass — a permit
  11. last — final
  12. clip — a video
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — finally
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. staff — employees
  24. calf — of the leg

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