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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 · season · pitcher · board · clip · calf · saw · stock

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. net — after costs
  5. board — a committee
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — a video
  8. stock — shares
  9. season — of the year
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. board — to get on
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. net — for catching
  20. clip — to cut
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. clip — for paper
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. season — 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