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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — clever
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. snap — to click
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. spring — a coil
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spring — of water
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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