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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. roll — a list
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. clip — a video
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mug — a face
  24. season — of the year

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