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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: cap · lash · ball · wound · rule · race · clip · rock

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. ball — a dance
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — government
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rock — music
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — of ice
  24. clip — for paper

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