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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: clip · net · racket · rash · fan · wake · face · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. face — to confront
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — a series
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — a video
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rash — hasty
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wake — a trail
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — for paper
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. face — part of the head

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