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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: race · file · bear · suit · clip · stand · last · prune

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — to go on
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. last — final
  9. stand — to bear
  10. clip — a video
  11. suit — to fit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — finally
  14. bear — the animal
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — for paper
  18. race — a contest
  19. file — a line of people
  20. suit — clothes
  21. race — humankind
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a document

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