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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — in biology
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — a phone
  6. craft — boats
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — a video
  21. rock — a stone
  22. sharp — clever
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bass — low music

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