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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: clip · ball · racket · sharp · scale · chest · jam · face

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — to cut
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. face — part of the head
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. ball — a great time
  9. sharp — clever
  10. scale — size or range
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. chest — of your body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. chest — a box
  22. scale — in music
  23. ball — a dance
  24. face — to confront

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