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

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — for catching
  5. band — a ring
  6. net — in sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. charge — in control
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — for paper
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. band — a music group
  15. charge — a price
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — after costs
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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