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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · clip · game · net · club · scale · lean · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. net — for catching
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. club — for golf
  5. clip — a video
  6. scale — in music
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — for dancing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. net — in sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. clip — to cut
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — wild animals
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. club — a group
  21. lean — to bend
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — for paper
  24. net — after costs

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