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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. race — humankind
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spring — a coil
  5. can — a tin
  6. spring — of water
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. can — to be able to
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — a contest
  12. spring — the season
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — in sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. can — a tin
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bass — low music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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