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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 120 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: rule · board · pound · season · bass · clip · firm · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. board — a committee
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. firm — a company
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the fish
  10. rule — a law
  11. season — of the year
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. board — to get on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bass — low music
  19. rule — government
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. clip — a video

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