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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rock — a stone
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. snap — to click
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cap — of ice

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