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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rash — hasty
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — a series
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. can — a tin
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. can — to be able to
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. prune — the fruit

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