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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — a video
  5. charge — in control
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — the cause
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. root — of a plant
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. charge — a price
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — a match
  17. saw — the tool
  18. charge — electricity
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — to cut
  24. root — of a word

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