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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. race — humankind
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. root — the cause
  10. mine — for digging
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stand — to bear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a plant
  16. race — the arms race
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. fine — high quality
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. root — of a word
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. fine — all right
  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