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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — a video
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a music group
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. race — humankind
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ball — a great time
  24. clip — for paper

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