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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 · content · face · bore · racket · key · lean

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — a video
  3. race — a contest
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. key — in music
  6. content — the amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. key — the most important part
  10. race — humankind
  11. face — part of the head
  12. lean — thin
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. content — happy
  15. bore — to tire
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. key — for a lock
  21. clip — for paper
  22. face — to point toward
  23. lean — to bend
  24. race — the arms race

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