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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. march — music
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — the underground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cue — a hint
  15. tube — a container
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. cue — a signal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. face — part of the head
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cue — for pool
  24. spell — a short time

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