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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wake — a trail
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. club — a group
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — tied together
  12. race — a contest
  13. clip — a video
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. race — humankind
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — obliged
  18. last — final
  19. staff — employees
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — finally
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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