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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. clip — a video
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — to come from
  13. race — a contest
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bass — low music
  22. race — humankind
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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