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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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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: deal · leaves · clip · march · mouse · bound · rush · race

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. race — humankind
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bound — certain
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. deal — to handle
  13. clip — to cut
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. race — the arms race
  20. march — music
  21. bound — obliged
  22. clip — a video
  23. deal — an agreement
  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