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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. season — in sport
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. race — humankind
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — of water
  13. court — of a king
  14. bore — to tire
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — a contest
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bore — to drill
  20. clip — a video
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mate — a friend
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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