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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — to tease
  4. vault — a safe
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — completely
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stock — shares
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — a contest
  24. leaves — of a tree

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