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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. suit — to fit
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ground — a position
  6. bass — low music
  7. race — humankind
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pass — a permit
  12. row — a line
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. suit — in cards
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. row — to paddle
  22. suit — clothes
  23. race — a contest
  24. bass — the fish

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