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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: kick · row · net · straw · clip · racket

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — for catching
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. net — in sport
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — for paper
  9. row — to paddle
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — after costs
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — to cut
  18. racket — a loud noise

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