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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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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: coach · wind · perch · stock · clip · net · mate · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. clip — a video
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mate — a friend
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — for paper
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — in sport
  16. mate — a partner
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — goods
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. net — for catching
  24. perch — for a bird

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