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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — a contest
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. current — electric
  12. clip — to cut
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. board — to get on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. board — a committee
  20. last — finally
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. kick — in football
  24. clip — for paper

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