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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — to cut
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rule — a law
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bore — to drill
  13. face — part of the head
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rule — government
  17. game — a match
  18. race — humankind
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. race — a contest
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — to tire

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