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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — in biology
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. toast — bread
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. land — ground
  24. coach — a trainer

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