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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — a contest
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. clip — a video
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stand — to bear
  23. race — humankind
  24. wound — an injury

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