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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: sharp · racket · jam · pop · season · clip · wind · roll

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — to visit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. roll — a list
  12. clip — to cut
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pop — soda
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. wind — moving air
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — clever
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. pop — music

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