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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pit — a hole
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. net — after costs
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mine — for digging

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