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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 116 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: key · craft · last · charge · clip · prune · squash · race

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. squash — to crush
  3. craft — boats
  4. key — the most important part
  5. charge — electricity
  6. race — the arms race
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — the sport
  13. last — finally
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. charge — in control
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — final
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. craft — a skill
  22. key — in music
  23. clip — a video
  24. key — for a lock

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