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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.

Make a worksheet

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: net · season · staff · jam · racket · root · temple · clip

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — a video
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. staff — a stick
  8. season — of the year
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. staff — employees
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. season — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — to cut
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — for paper
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. net — for catching
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. root — of a word

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