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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: net · rash · bat · arm · bowl · pitcher · cap · clip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cap — a hat
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — a series
  15. cap — a lid
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. net — for catching
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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