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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. race — the arms race
  3. clip — for paper
  4. object — a thing
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — a contest
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bound — obliged
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bat — the animal
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — a video

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