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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: chair · race · ground · capital · leaves · foot · clip · racket

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — a contest
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. race — the arms race
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. capital — money
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. race — humankind
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — a leader
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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