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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · race · wave · ground · clip · season · fine · mouse

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. clip — a video
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. last — final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fine — all right
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — of the year
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — to go on
  18. fine — high quality
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. last — finally
  24. mouse — the animal

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