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

Word bank: race · foot · kid · clip · toast · bowl

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. 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. clip — a video
  2. race — a contest
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. clip — for paper
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — bread
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. clip — to cut
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. 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