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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — humankind
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — soda
  12. rule — government
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rule — a law
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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