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

Word bank: clip · racket · pound · wound · staff · roll · lie · chest

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. chest — a box
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — an injury
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. staff — employees
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pound — a weight
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. staff — employees
  21. chest — of your body
  22. staff — a stick
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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