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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: land · rush · pass · clip · net · calf · bark · craft

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. net — after costs
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — for catching
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. craft — a skill
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. craft — boats
  24. net — 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