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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: racket · clip · wake · ball · cold · fall · game · cabinet

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — an illness
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. game — a match
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ball — a great time
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ball — a dance

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