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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rest — a break
  3. branch — a division
  4. kick — in football
  5. staff — employees
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. content — the amount
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — in sport
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. staff — employees
  15. rest — what's left
  16. content — happy
  17. net — after costs
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. clip — a video

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