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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. net — in sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — the month
  9. object — a thing
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — army training
  12. mate — a friend
  13. object — an aim
  14. march — the month
  15. chip — for betting
  16. drill — the tool
  17. march — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. object — to protest
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mate — a partner
  23. net — for catching
  24. drill — a practice

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