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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stand — to bear
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — a contest
  14. clip — a video
  15. object — an aim
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. race — humankind
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pound — a weight
  24. clip — to cut

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