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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — ground
  3. pound — a weight
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — to come down
  6. net — for catching
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — in sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. branch — a division
  17. lean — thin
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. land — a country
  23. lean — to bend
  24. clip — to cut

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