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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 120 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: leaves · tear · ground · club · clip · race · patient · current

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tear — to rip
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. current — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. current — happening now
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — for paper
  17. current — electric
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. ground — crushed
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. club — for golf
  24. clip — a video

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