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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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Word bank
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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: march · stand · racket · clip · race · chip

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. march — music
  3. chip — to eat
  4. race — the arms race
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — for paper
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. march — the month
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — the month
  18. stand — for spectators

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