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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mate — a friend
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cap — a lid
  5. race — humankind
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — a video
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a partner
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — to breed
  24. band — a ring

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