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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. track — a song
  12. race — the arms race
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. clip — for paper
  15. track — a path
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. saw — the tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bowl — to roll

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