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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: mate · shower · lie · club · bulb · clip · race · wake

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. club — a group
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. club — for golf
  24. bulb — for light

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