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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — to crush
  11. race — a contest
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. clip — a video
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chair — a leader
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — for paper

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