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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — the arms race
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mug — a face
  8. mate — a friend
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — a match
  14. mate — a partner
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mug — a cup
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. game — wild animals

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