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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: straw · race · pit · clip · capital · current

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. race — humankind
  3. current — happening now
  4. race — a contest
  5. pit — in a race
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. current — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. capital — a city
  14. race — the arms race
  15. clip — for paper
  16. current — electric
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money

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