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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — to cut
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pop — music
  17. race — a contest
  18. season — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. season — of the year
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. race — humankind

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