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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: last · bat · rash · stem · mark · clip · saw · racket

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — to cut
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. saw — the tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — finally
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mark — to pay attention

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