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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: clip · bore · net · content · pitch · band · nail · craft

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — the amount
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. craft — boats
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pitch — completely
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. band — a music group
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. craft — a skill
  15. band — a ring
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — in sport
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. content — happy
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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