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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 124 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. kick — in football
  11. race — humankind
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. clip — a video
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — to crush
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. current — happening now
  24. plane — a tool

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