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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mine — for digging
  3. clip — to cut
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — for paper
  11. deal — to handle
  12. track — a song
  13. pound — a weight
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. sharp — clever
  21. charge — in control
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — a video
  24. charge — a price

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