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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. clip — a video
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. mate — a friend
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — to tease
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ball — a great time
  16. staff — employees
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kid — child
  22. race — a contest
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ball — a dance

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