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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rash — a series
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — magic
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spell — a short time
  9. race — a contest
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. race — humankind
  18. wake — a trail
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spell — letters
  24. chip — for betting

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