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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bank — of a river
  9. race — a contest
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — a video
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a lid
  18. toast — bread
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. row — a line

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