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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: band · net · clip · fan · mate · arm · ground · ruler

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. net — for catching
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mate — a partner
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — in sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. band — a ring
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — a video
  24. ground — a position

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