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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. race — humankind
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — to cut
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chair — a leader
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. race — a contest
  21. clip — a video
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. race — the arms race

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