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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: object · cold · race · cabinet · swing · clip

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — to play on
  6. object — a thing
  7. race — humankind
  8. object — an aim
  9. swing — music
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. race — the arms race
  12. swing — in golf
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. object — to protest

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