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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: root · last · drill · cell · current · clip · race · band

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cell — a phone
  3. race — the arms race
  4. clip — to cut
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. current — electric
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — of a plant
  11. drill — a practice
  12. root — the cause
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. root — of a word
  17. band — a ring
  18. current — happening now
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — of water
  21. drill — the tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — army training
  24. last — final

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