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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. shower — rain
  6. race — humankind
  7. land — ground
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. land — to come down
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — a country
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pop — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — to visit
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rash — hasty
  20. race — a contest
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. pop — soda

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