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

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

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. game — a match
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tube — a container
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fall — the season
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. 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