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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a path
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — the arms race
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fine — all right
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fine — high quality
  21. track — a song
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — a video
  24. fine — a penalty

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