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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: wind · object · wound · net · scale · clip · season · game

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — a thing
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. net — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. object — an aim
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. net — for catching
  16. season — in sport
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — after costs

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