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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. squash — to crush
  6. band — a ring
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. band — a music group
  11. game — a match
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. squash — the sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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