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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. race — the arms race
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — low music
  6. spell — letters
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spell — magic
  11. race — a contest
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bass — the fish
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chair — a leader
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — a video
  21. pound — a weight
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. spell — a short time
  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