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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — for paper
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — for sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of a king
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. tear — from crying
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — to rip
  18. vault — a safe
  19. present — a gift
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. present — the time now
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. present — there

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