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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mug — a cup
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mate — to breed
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — for sport
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mate — a friend
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — for a bird

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