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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 · game · arm · press · bark · cue · racket · stem

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. press — a publisher
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cue — for pool
  11. press — to push
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — to come from
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cue — a signal
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. press — newspapers
  21. game — a match
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. game — a kind of play

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