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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fall — the season
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a line of people
  5. race — the arms race
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. board — a committee
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — humankind
  10. snap — to click
  11. race — a contest
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — what's left
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. file — a document
  21. cap — a hat
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. board — to get on

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