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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with 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. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. row — a line
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pop — soda
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pop — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pop — to visit
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. shower — rain
  23. clip — for paper
  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