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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: racket · clip · net · ball · leaves · bound · current · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. net — in sport
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — happening now
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — finally
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bound — tied together
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bound — certain
  17. ball — a dance
  18. current — electric
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. last — final
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ball — a great time

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