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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: kick · land · race · racket · ruler · roll

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. roll — a cake
  5. race — the arms race
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. land — ground
  10. roll — a list
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. race — a contest
  13. land — to come down
  14. race — humankind
  15. land — a country
  16. kick — in football
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. roll — on a roll

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