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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. race — the arms race
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. race — humankind
  6. snap — to click
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — a contest
  9. wind — moving air
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. mug — a face
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mug — to rob
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wake — a trail
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. roll — a list

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