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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · season · bat · net · ball · clip · mouse · cell

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. tube — the underground
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — for paper
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — in sport
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. season — in sport
  24. ball — a dance

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