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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. can — to be able to
  4. rest — what's left
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — a video
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. can — a tin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mark — a grade
  17. object — to protest
  18. rest — a break
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mark — a trace
  21. object — a thing
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. object — an aim

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