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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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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: suit · fall · racket · cell · clip · band · race · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. race — a contest
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — a phone
  5. suit — to fit
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — the arms race
  8. scale — size or range
  9. suit — clothes
  10. clip — a video
  11. fall — to drop
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — in music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — to drop
  19. suit — in cards
  20. band — a ring
  21. race — humankind
  22. cell — in biology
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fall — the season

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