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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. race — humankind
  9. content — the amount
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chip — for betting
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — happy
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mug — a face
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chip — to eat
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. race — the arms race

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