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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: ruler · race · perch · wave · net · clip · key · pitcher

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. key — the most important part
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. key — in music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. key — for a lock
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. net — for catching
  24. wave — with your hand

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