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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tube — a container
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. clip — to cut
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. clip — a video
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. race — a contest
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — of ice
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. fork — to eat with

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