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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 116 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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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: wave · snap · racket · clip · wound · face · prune · chair

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. clip — a video
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. clip — to cut
  14. prune — to trim
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. face — part of the head
  21. prune — to trim
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. face — to confront
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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