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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. saw — the tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. race — humankind
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — the arms race
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. kid — child
  14. saw — the tool
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. row — a line
  19. race — a contest
  20. cap — a hat
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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