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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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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: bank · net · chair · mate · drill · clip · band · cue

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. net — after costs
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cue — a signal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bank — for money
  16. chair — a leader
  17. drill — army training
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cue — a hint
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — the tool

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