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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ground — a position
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — a video
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bore — to tire
  14. race — a contest
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bore — to drill
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pop — soda
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — the earth

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