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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 120 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: march · clip · tear · deal · bound · net · firm · wave

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — tied together
  5. net — after costs
  6. firm — a company
  7. tear — to rip
  8. net — in sport
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bound — obliged
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tear — from crying
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — music
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. march — the month
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. march — the month

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