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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. clip — a video
  5. staff — a stick
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. last — to go on
  8. lean — thin
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — final
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — a thing
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. spring — the season
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to bend
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. last — finally
  20. staff — employees
  21. object — an aim
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. racket — for tennis

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