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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. clip — to cut
  8. staff — a stick
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — after costs
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. field — farmland
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — for paper
  22. net — in sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. rule — government

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