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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. club — for dancing
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — to cut
  19. snap — to click
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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