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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 124 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. race — humankind
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. land — to come down
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. can — a tin
  9. land — ground
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — the arms race
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. perch — the fish
  16. can — to be able to
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. race — a contest
  19. track — a song
  20. kick — in football
  21. track — to keep track
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. land — a country

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