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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · scale · band · saw · clip · tear · mine · perch

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — to cut
  15. net — after costs
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — to rip
  23. saw — the tool
  24. perch — the fish

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