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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rule — government
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — a video
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. net — in sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. face — to confront

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