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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — a video
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. race — a contest
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. press — a publisher
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — to push
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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