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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. season — in sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. season — of the year
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rule — a law
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — government
  22. field — a subject
  23. nail — on a finger
  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