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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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Word bank
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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. drill — a practice
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — child
  11. chip — to eat
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kid — to tease
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — a video

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