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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. last — finally
  3. race — humankind
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — for paper
  11. race — the arms race
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. last — to go on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. clip — a video
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — to rip
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. last — final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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