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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.

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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: spring · face · wound · mark · clip · season · temple · racket

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wound — an injury
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spring — a coil
  10. season — of the year
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. face — part of the head
  15. season — in sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. face — to confront
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mark — a grade

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