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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. drill — army training
  3. current — of water
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — to cut
  8. current — electric
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — a video
  11. current — happening now
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — a subject
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. drill — the tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — farmland
  24. drill — a practice

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