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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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 — humankind
  2. fine — all right
  3. clip — a video
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fine — high quality
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — a short time
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ground — crushed
  14. board — a committee
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — magic
  19. board — to get on
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wound — an injury
  22. race — a contest
  23. kid — child
  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