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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. clip — to cut
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — humankind
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. race — a contest
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bound — obliged
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — to go on
  13. game — a match
  14. last — final
  15. clip — for paper
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. last — finally
  19. race — the arms race
  20. clip — a video
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bound — tied together

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