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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · clip · court · sharp · temple · net · tube · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. net — for catching
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tube — the underground
  8. clip — to cut
  9. net — after costs
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — a container
  14. net — in sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — for sport
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — of a king
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of law
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. tube — in a tire

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