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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fall — the season
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — for paper
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — to drill
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bore — to tire
  23. race — the arms race
  24. fall — to drop

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