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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. root — the cause
  5. lie — to recline
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — for paper
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — a contest
  12. root — of a plant
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. root — of a word
  18. race — humankind
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. game — a match
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mug — to rob

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