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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. race — humankind
  10. shower — rain
  11. rock — music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. shower — to wash
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — a hat
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — in sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. race — a contest
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. clip — for paper

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