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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — decided
  6. race — humankind
  7. firm — a company
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — the season
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — for catching
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. firm — steady
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — the month
  21. race — the arms race
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — to cut
  24. net — in sport

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