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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — a practice
  3. net — in sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — to wash
  8. clip — a video
  9. mug — a face
  10. ground — a position
  11. shower — rain
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. drill — army training
  14. clip — to cut
  15. net — after costs
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. object — a thing
  19. kick — in football
  20. mug — to rob
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. object — an aim

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