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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: bass · snap · clip · leaves · pop · chair · race · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — humankind
  11. pop — music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — soda
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. leaves — to go away

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