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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — in sport
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rash — hasty
  21. net — for catching
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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