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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitch — completely
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. clip — a video
  15. net — for catching
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. net — in sport

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