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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: pop · clip · nail · net · season · wound · row · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — for catching
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — in sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. season — of the year
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. row — a line
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — to visit

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