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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. charge — electricity
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — to trim
  8. charge — in control
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — the season
  13. charge — a price
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. fall — to drop
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fall — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. prune — to trim
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tube — a container

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