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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 116 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: last · kick · season · fine · rash · net · rest · clip

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. kick — in football
  3. season — in sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — finally
  7. rest — a break
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rash — a series
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. net — after costs
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fine — all right
  20. last — to go on
  21. fine — high quality
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — final

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