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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. race — humankind
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — to cut
  7. club — for golf
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. suit — clothes
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. suit — to fit
  12. ground — the earth
  13. club — a group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitch — completely
  22. suit — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — crushed

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