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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: bowl · net · wake · sharp · chest · clip · pass · pound

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. clip — a video
  4. sharp — clever
  5. net — in sport
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — for paper
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chest — a box
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pass — a permit

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