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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — a video
  3. face — to confront
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fork — in a road
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — the arms race
  14. face — to point toward
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. race — a contest
  24. sharp — exactly

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