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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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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: fine · march · straw · net · clip · stand

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — the month
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fine — high quality
  6. clip — for paper
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. net — after costs
  10. stand — to bear
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching

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