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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: wind · spring · ruler · clip · mark · net · band · fine

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. net — in sport
  5. fine — high quality
  6. spring — of water
  7. band — a music group
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mark — a grade
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. mark — a trace
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. band — a ring
  19. fine — all right
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — after costs
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. net — for catching

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