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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 116 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. net — after costs
  3. last — to go on
  4. firm — a company
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — final
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. last — finally
  19. firm — steady
  20. net — in sport
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — to wash
  24. firm — decided

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