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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. charge — electricity
  3. clip — a video
  4. charge — a price
  5. race — humankind
  6. fall — the season
  7. charge — in control
  8. tear — from crying
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — for paper
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. clip — to cut
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. perch — the fish

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