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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — a practice
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — army training
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spring — of water
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. race — humankind
  16. land — ground
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. race — a contest
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. track — to keep track

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