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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: object · chest · wind · cue · racket · race

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chest — a box
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — a contest
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — an aim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a hint
  17. race — humankind
  18. cue — for pool

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