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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: mug · clip · race · chair · tear · rash · lie · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rash — a series
  3. mug — a cup
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mug — to rob
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — to come down
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. lie — to recline
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — to sit on

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