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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spring — the season
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cue — a hint
  10. race — humankind
  11. fine — all right
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fine — high quality
  14. race — the arms race
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spring — of water
  20. cue — for pool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cue — a signal
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. racket — for tennis

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