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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: net · saw · track · kick · clip · lean · wound · mug

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — a video
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — to rob
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lean — thin
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — the tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a song
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. track — to keep track
  24. kick — in football

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