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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. kid — child
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rest — a break
  6. race — a contest
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — to tease
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. race — humankind
  24. clip — to cut

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