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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rest — what's left
  5. race — a contest
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — of water
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rest — a break
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spring — the season
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — for paper
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. race — humankind
  23. clip — a video
  24. lean — thin

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