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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: date · net · court · clip · wave · last · branch · foot

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. court — of a king
  3. net — for catching
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — for sport
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. court — of law
  11. last — to go on
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. branch — a division
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. last — final
  16. net — in sport
  17. foot — a measure
  18. last — finally
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. clip — a video
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. net — after costs

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