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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. race — a contest
  4. row — to paddle
  5. club — a group
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for dancing
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — for golf
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — the arms race
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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