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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. net — for catching
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — a video
  6. mate — a partner
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — a company
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. net — after costs
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. firm — decided
  21. clip — for paper
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. firm — steady

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