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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
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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: clip · mine · key · rush · season · net · arm · lean

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mine — for digging
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. net — in sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — a video
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lean — thin
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — in sport
  19. lean — to bend
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — of the year
  22. key — for a lock
  23. net — for catching
  24. rush — hurry

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