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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. net — for catching
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. band — a ring
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rush — hurry
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — to cut
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. clip — for paper
  16. net — after costs
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. row — to paddle
  20. band — a music group
  21. cell — a phone
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — to hurry

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