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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. track — a song
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — a country
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. season — in sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — for catching
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — of the year
  22. track — to keep track
  23. land — to come down
  24. net — after costs

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