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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.

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: can · game · wound · ball · spell · clip · stem · roll

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — to cut
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. can — to be able to
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — letters
  7. clip — a video
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. spell — a short time
  11. stem — to come from
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a great time
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. roll — a cake
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a dance
  23. game — a match
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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