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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. firm — steady
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — a partner
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mate — a friend
  8. net — for catching
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. firm — a company
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — decided
  14. net — after costs
  15. clip — a video
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. wind — moving air
  19. charge — electricity
  20. clip — to cut
  21. snap — to click
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mate — to breed
  24. prune — to trim

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