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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — a contest
  8. object — to protest
  9. bass — low music
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bass — the fish
  13. object — a thing
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. object — an aim
  21. clip — a video
  22. race — humankind
  23. wind — moving air
  24. net — for catching

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