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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mug — a cup
  3. clip — for paper
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — a video
  6. mug — to rob
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mug — a face
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — final
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mine — an explosive

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