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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. present — there
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. band — a music group
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. present — a gift
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mug — to rob
  14. present — the time now
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — in football
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mate — a partner
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — in sport
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — a cup
  24. band — a ring

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