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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. squash — the sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — a video
  17. squash — to crush
  18. race — humankind
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — to cut
  22. track — a song
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. racket — a loud noise

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