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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wake — a trail
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rock — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. rash — a series
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rush — hurry
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. race — a contest
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wound — an injury

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