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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: ruler · clip · racket · sharp · spring · tube · fall · rash

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — a coil
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — of water
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rash — hasty
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. fall — the season
  14. spring — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rash — a series
  18. tube — the underground
  19. sharp — clever
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. clip — a video
  24. fall — to drop

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