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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wake — a trail
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — to cut
  5. club — a group
  6. content — happy
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — a video
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. clip — for paper
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. content — videos and posts

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