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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a music group
  3. race — a contest
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. current — happening now
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. kid — to tease
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kid — child
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — electric
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — the arms race
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pound — a weight
  20. clip — for paper
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a ring
  23. current — of water
  24. pound — for dogs

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