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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. race — humankind
  3. pop — to visit
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — soda
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. can — to be able to
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. can — a tin
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. pop — music
  23. net — in sport
  24. can — a tin

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