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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. race — humankind
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. last — finally
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — a contest
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — final
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — a practice
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. race — the arms race
  23. drill — army training
  24. clip — a video

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