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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — a contest
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — child
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — to tease
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rest — what's left
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. foot — a measure
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. branch — of a bank

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