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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: pass · clip · band · land · snap · net · tube · spell

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — to come down
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — for catching
  7. pass — a permit
  8. spell — magic
  9. land — a country
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. clip — a video
  20. tube — a container
  21. band — a ring
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. net — after costs

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