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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — humankind
  3. clip — a video
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — to come down
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a leader
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chest — of your body
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — to cut
  15. craft — a skill
  16. race — a contest
  17. date — the fruit
  18. craft — boats
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — a country
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. clip — for paper

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