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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pop — music
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cap — of ice
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — a lid
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. race — a contest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fine — all right
  23. pop — soda
  24. race — humankind

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