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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. club — for golf
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. clip — to cut
  6. club — for dancing
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. fine — high quality
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. fine — all right
  15. branch — a division
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. club — a group
  21. fall — the season
  22. race — the arms race
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bat — the animal

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