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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: row · land · key · scale · wound · clip · net · bulb

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. scale — size or range
  3. key — in music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — a country
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — to cut
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. key — the most important part
  12. land — to come down
  13. net — after costs
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. net — in sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — in music

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