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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 120 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: rest · racket · cell · chair · track · clip

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rest — a break
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — for paper
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — to keep track
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. track — a song
  18. cell — a phone

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