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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. spell — letters
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. face — to confront
  7. object — to protest
  8. race — a contest
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rush — hurry
  12. object — an aim
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. clip — a video
  16. race — humankind
  17. swing — music
  18. spell — magic
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. object — a thing
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spell — a short time
  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