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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.

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: land · swing · row · racket · clip · bore · cold · net

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. row — a line
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — in golf
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. row — to paddle
  7. swing — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. bore — to drill
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — for paper
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bore — to tire
  17. net — for catching
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. net — in sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — gave birth
  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