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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 116 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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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: stem · game · clip · sharp · racket · wound

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — a video
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — an injury

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