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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — wild animals
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. band — a music group
  7. swing — in golf
  8. band — a ring
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. swing — to play on
  11. clip — a video
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. swing — music
  16. game — a match
  17. clip — to cut
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — for paper
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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