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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — music
  4. clip — to cut
  5. staff — a stick
  6. perch — the fish
  7. root — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. race — a contest
  10. pop — to visit
  11. root — the cause
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — a video
  15. race — humankind
  16. root — of a word
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — soda

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