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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: net · clip · fine · tear · ground · wake · rush · present

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. net — in sport
  3. fine — all right
  4. present — a gift
  5. net — for catching
  6. clip — a video
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. present — there
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — after costs
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rush — hurry
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — the time now
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ground — a position

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