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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.

Make a worksheet

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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. clip — a video
  5. net — in sport
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. roll — a list
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. ball — a great time
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ball — a dance

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