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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — for paper
  3. season — in sport
  4. kick — in football
  5. net — after costs
  6. can — a tin
  7. march — the month
  8. net — for catching
  9. clip — a video
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a cake
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. net — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — ground
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — a thrill

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