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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. clip — for paper
  4. race — humankind
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — a contest
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — a video
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. ground — a position
  24. nail — on a finger

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