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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cell — a phone
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chair — a leader
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. race — a contest
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. branch — a division
  15. race — humankind
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. deal — to handle
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. jam — in traffic

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