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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fine — all right
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. race — humankind
  24. chair — a leader

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