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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. field — a subject
  3. race — a contest
  4. roll — a list
  5. bound — tied together
  6. roll — a cake
  7. plane — a tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bound — obliged
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. field — farmland
  14. bound — certain
  15. scale — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. scale — size or range
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. scale — for weighing
  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