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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. craft — boats
  3. firm — a company
  4. craft — a skill
  5. firm — steady
  6. clip — a video
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — wild animals
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. race — a contest
  16. perch — the fish
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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