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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 120 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: net · root · clip · game · pass · wound · bat · rest

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rest — what's left
  3. root — of a word
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bat — the animal
  6. game — a match
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pass — a permit
  11. root — the cause
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — a video
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. root — of a plant

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