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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fine — all right
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to confront
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cell — in biology
  13. squash — the sport
  14. face — part of the head
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — music
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — a video
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. race — the arms race
  24. face — to point toward

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