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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. last — finally
  3. net — for catching
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. net — after costs
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. race — humankind
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tube — the underground
  14. last — final
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. swing — music
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mark — a grade
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — a trace

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