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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rest — a break
  10. shower — rain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. craft — a skill
  13. tube — a container
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — a video

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