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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. last — finally
  5. object — an aim
  6. race — a contest
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — for paper
  12. club — for dancing
  13. last — final
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. last — to go on
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. fork — in a road
  22. race — humankind
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. club — for golf

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