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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — a contest
  7. clip — a video
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. stand — to bear
  10. race — the arms race
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. staff — employees
  14. chest — of your body
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. drill — a practice
  24. staff — employees

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