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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: wound · chair · ground · racket · clip · arm · snap · track

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a path
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ground — the earth
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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