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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — to come down
  4. fine — all right
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. land — a country
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — child
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — ground
  24. kid — to tease

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