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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: season · roll · net · row · clip · lash · ground · track

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. track — a song
  3. roll — a cake
  4. clip — a video
  5. ground — the earth
  6. net — after costs
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. roll — a list
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — to cut
  12. track — a path
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. row — to paddle
  21. track — to keep track
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a line

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