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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: cold · safe · pit · race · clip · racket

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. race — a contest
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pit — in a race
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. safe — a strongbox

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