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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spell — letters
  3. clip — to cut
  4. court — of a king
  5. clip — a video
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — magic
  8. clip — for paper
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. charge — electricity
  14. degree — temperature
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. charge — a price
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. charge — in control
  20. spell — a short time
  21. court — of law
  22. race — a contest
  23. degree — from a university
  24. leaves — lets stay

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