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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. race — the arms race
  3. shower — rain
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. race — humankind
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. race — a contest
  18. toast — bread
  19. shower — to wash
  20. last — finally
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. kick — in football

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