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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: clip · band · spell · net · game · pit · branch · arm

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — a short time
  5. net — after costs
  6. pit — a hole
  7. spell — letters
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pit — in a race

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