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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — a video
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bound — certain
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — to confront
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pit — a hole
  20. face — part of the head
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — not warm

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