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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. swing — to play on
  3. staff — employees
  4. race — the arms race
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — humankind
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. staff — employees
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — to come down
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. board — a committee
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. race — a contest

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