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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: cold · spring · bass · clip · net · racket · pit · row

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. clip — for paper
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spring — of water
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — for catching
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. net — after costs
  22. bass — low music
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cold — an illness

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