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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: clip · race · mine · rule · hand · cue · roll · racket

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mine — for digging
  10. clip — a video
  11. race — humankind
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. roll — a cake
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cue — a hint
  18. roll — a list
  19. race — a contest
  20. rule — government
  21. hand — help
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. rule — a law
  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