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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. race — a contest
  3. club — a group
  4. file — a document
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ground — the earth
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — for golf
  10. mug — to rob
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. mug — a face
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mug — a cup
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — for paper
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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