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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · racket · tear · rule · stand · mate

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stand — to bear
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rule — a law
  9. mate — to breed
  10. clip — a video
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. clip — for paper
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rule — government
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rule — to rule out

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