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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 · net · wave · deal · band · foot · bat · row

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a music group
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — for catching
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. net — after costs
  17. band — a ring
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bat — in an idiom

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