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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 124 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — a video
  4. tube — the underground
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. squash — the sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. clip — for paper
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitch — completely
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. race — humankind
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. tube — a container
  22. key — in music
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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