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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — obliged
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. race — humankind
  22. capital — money
  23. bound — certain
  24. season — of the year

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