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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. race — the arms race
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rush — hurry
  7. key — the most important part
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. key — for a lock
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — in music
  20. race — a contest
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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