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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: ball · arm · bound · clip · squash · game · net · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. roll — a list
  2. net — for catching
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ball — a great time
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. clip — for paper
  8. roll — a cake
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — a match
  11. squash — to crush
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. ball — a dance
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. clip — a video
  20. net — after costs
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  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