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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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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: leaves · root · cold · sharp · snap · net · racket · clip

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. net — for catching
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — the cause
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. root — of a plant
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — after costs
  19. cold — not warm
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. root — of a word
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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