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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. net — for catching
  3. bank — for money
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bank — of a river
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — clever
  11. plane — a tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — for paper
  17. net — in sport
  18. bank — for money

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