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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. race — a contest
  4. clip — a video
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — money
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. race — humankind
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pop — soda
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mark — a grade
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mark — a trace

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