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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — to cut
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fork — in a road
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. row — a line
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. face — to point toward
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — humankind
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. face — part of the head
  19. race — a contest
  20. season — of the year
  21. face — to confront
  22. rule — a law
  23. season — in sport
  24. rule — government

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