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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — after costs
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. swing — in golf
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a document
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a tool
  14. mark — a trace
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mark — a grade
  17. swing — music
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. swing — to play on
  21. land — ground
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. land — to come down
  24. pitcher — a jug

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