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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. suit — to fit
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tear — to rip
  6. clip — a video
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. capital — money
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mine — for digging
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. suit — in cards
  20. fine — all right
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — the arms race
  24. suit — clothes

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