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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mug — a cup
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. race — a contest
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a match
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mug — to rob
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pop — to visit
  22. race — humankind
  23. mug — a face
  24. race — the arms race

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