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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: tear · clip · cell · mug · trunk · race · suit · rock

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mug — a cup
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mug — to rob
  10. suit — to fit
  11. rock — a stone
  12. suit — clothes
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. suit — in cards
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. mug — a face
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rock — music

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