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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.

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: tear · bore · plane · racket · wound · net · court · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — to rip
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to tire
  10. plane — a tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bore — to drill
  14. net — in sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. court — of law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. net — for catching
  24. court — of a king

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