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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: tear · nail · racket · swing · race · rest · patient · spell

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. rest — a break
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — to rip
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — humankind
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. racket — for tennis

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