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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — a video
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rush — hurry
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — a practice
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rush — to hurry

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