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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 116 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: wound · clip · ruler · field · sharp · plane · tear · racket

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. tear — to rip
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — clever
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. field — for sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — from crying

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