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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. clip — a video
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. race — humankind
  5. ground — a position
  6. pound — a weight
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — the earth
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. band — a ring
  13. race — a contest
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — magic
  17. ground — crushed
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. spell — a short time
  21. band — a music group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — letters

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