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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. clip — to cut
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rule — government
  10. field — farmland
  11. pass — a permit
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. stand — to bear
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. race — humankind

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