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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: racket · spring · firm · wind · ground · cue · race · clip

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. race — a contest
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — a hint
  5. spring — the season
  6. ground — crushed
  7. race — humankind
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. race — the arms race
  11. clip — to cut
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — a video
  14. firm — steady
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — a company
  19. cue — for pool
  20. spring — of water
  21. cue — a signal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. spring — a coil
  24. firm — decided

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