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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — final
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. net — after costs
  13. club — a group
  14. pitch — completely
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. last — finally
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. game — a match
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — to go on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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