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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 · cue · clip · sharp · bowl · kick · stand

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a match
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — for pool
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bowl — a football final

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