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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 120 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a leader
  4. race — humankind
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — a contest
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. rule — government
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitch — a sports field

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