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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. board — to get on
  3. race — humankind
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. mug — to rob
  6. race — a contest
  7. mug — a cup
  8. pit — in a race
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. race — the arms race
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. mug — a face
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pit — a hole
  21. kid — to tease
  22. board — a committee
  23. can — to be able to
  24. board — a flat piece

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