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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.

Words on the sheet
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: band · track · face · mate · lash · clip · net · bat

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — a friend
  4. track — a song
  5. mate — a partner
  6. face — part of the head
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. face — to point toward
  11. clip — to cut
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — a video
  15. mate — to breed
  16. band — a music group
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bat — the animal
  21. track — a path
  22. band — a ring
  23. face — to confront
  24. net — in sport

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