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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. race — humankind
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mate — a friend
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. race — a contest
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mate — a partner
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. firm — a company
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. firm — steady
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — help
  23. row — a line
  24. firm — decided

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