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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pop — to visit
  4. firm — steady
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. race — a contest
  7. march — the month
  8. race — the arms race
  9. firm — a company
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. clip — to cut
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — a tool
  18. firm — decided
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — humankind
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — music

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