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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. race — a contest
  8. squash — the sport
  9. fine — high quality
  10. key — in music
  11. board — to get on
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — to cut
  15. squash — to crush
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mine — for digging
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. board — a committee

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