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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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468
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: foot · clip · mine · mark · scale · racket · rule · straw

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. foot — a measure
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. rule — a law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — in music
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rule — government

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