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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 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — a contest
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — a video
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. race — humankind
  16. rash — a series
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. chair — a leader
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wave — with your hand

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