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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. rule — a law
  5. present — a gift
  6. cap — a hat
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. mug — a cup
  16. spell — letters
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — the time now
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cap — a lid
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mug — a face
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — of ice

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