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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ground — a position
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. row — a line
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. clip — to cut
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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