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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 116 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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468
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: season · net · racket · fall · club · game · clip · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. club — a group
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. club — for golf
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. fall — the season
  19. club — for dancing
  20. shower — to wash
  21. game — wild animals
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — a match

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