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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: deal · clip · present · saw · season · bear · net · leaves

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bear — the animal
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — there
  16. deal — to handle
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — in sport
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — a gift
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. net — for catching
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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