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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bank — of a river
  3. clip — a video
  4. bank — for money
  5. court — of a king
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. file — a document
  9. race — humankind
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. toast — bread
  16. race — the arms race
  17. key — in music
  18. court — for sport
  19. file — a line of people
  20. race — a contest
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. court — of law
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. clip — for paper

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