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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. swing — music
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rule — government
  8. race — the arms race
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. clip — a video
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. branch — a division
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ball — a great time
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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