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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — to cut
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bound — certain
  8. clip — a video
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. land — to come down
  13. pop — soda
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pop — music
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bound — tied together
  18. land — a country
  19. race — humankind
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pop — to visit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. race — a contest
  24. bound — obliged

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