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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: ground · wind · net · pass · wound · clip · mate · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. net — in sport
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — for catching
  21. pass — a permit
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — to turn a key

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