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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: lean · board · race · pit · bass · rest · field · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. bass — the fish
  4. race — humankind
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — a committee
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — farmland
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — for sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. board — to get on
  23. field — a subject
  24. pit — a hole

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