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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — a position
  5. race — humankind
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bass — low music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spell — magic
  22. cell — in biology
  23. race — a contest
  24. wound — an injury

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