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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. clip — to cut
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rash — a series
  8. bulb — for light
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bulb — for light
  18. clip — a video
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. fork — in a road

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