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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 · net · march · roll · bat · staff · wake · bay

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bat — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. staff — employees
  12. net — for catching
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. staff — a stick
  17. march — the month
  18. roll — a cake
  19. net — in sport
  20. march — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. roll — a list
  24. bat — in an idiom

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