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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pound — a weight
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — humankind
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. can — a tin
  15. club — for golf
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — a match
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. club — a group
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — to cut

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