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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: ruler · racket · chair · tube · fall · clip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fall — to drop
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tube — the underground
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — the season
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tube — a container
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. ruler — a monarch

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