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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 116 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — a video
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — rain
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fine — all right
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pass — a permit
  21. rash — a series
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — magic

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