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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 120 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. race — humankind
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — the season
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — to bear
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — a video

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