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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cap — a lid
  4. clip — to cut
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — the earth
  8. present — a gift
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — the time now
  15. file — a document
  16. cap — of ice
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — there
  19. clip — for paper
  20. land — a country
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. race — the arms race
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. file — a tool

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