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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 120 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: mark · firm · race · chair · rash · clip · racket · wound

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. wound — an injury
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. firm — a company
  9. chair — a leader
  10. clip — to cut
  11. firm — steady
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wound — an injury
  15. firm — decided
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. clip — a video
  18. rash — a series
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mark — a grade
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mark — a trace
  23. racket — for tennis
  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