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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. net — in sport
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. drill — army training
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mate — a partner
  15. clip — a video
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. pop — soda
  19. drill — a practice
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. net — for catching
  24. drill — the tool

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