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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fine — all right
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — a contest
  9. band — a ring
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a music group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — from a university
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — high quality

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