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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: present · pit · net · bass · clip · shower · racket · race

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. race — the arms race
  4. net — in sport
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — rain
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — a contest
  13. net — after costs
  14. bass — low music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — for catching
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. race — humankind

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