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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. toast — bread
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. rule — government
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — a video
  15. lie — to recline
  16. march — music
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. march — the month
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — for paper
  24. scale — in music

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