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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.

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: lean · wound · lash · roll · mate · clip · net · file

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. roll — a list
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — to cut
  9. file — a tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — a friend
  14. net — for catching
  15. mate — to breed
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. roll — a cake
  19. mate — a partner
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a document
  23. net — in sport
  24. file — a line of people

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