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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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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. clip — to cut
  6. charge — electricity
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bore — to drill
  9. charge — a price
  10. track — a path
  11. bank — for money
  12. season — in sport
  13. bore — to tire
  14. charge — in control
  15. key — in music
  16. bank — of a river
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — of the year
  19. track — a song
  20. bank — for money
  21. net — for catching
  22. key — the most important part
  23. track — to keep track
  24. net — after costs

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