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

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a line
  4. suit — in cards
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. suit — to fit
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — a video
  19. mark — a trace
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kid — child
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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