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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. tear — from crying
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cue — for pool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cell — a phone
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cue — a hint

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