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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: wound · craft · racket · stick · field · hand · clip · bass

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — to cut
  3. field — farmland
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — a subject
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bass — low music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wound — an injury

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