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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to click
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — hurry
  8. net — for catching
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. net — in sport
  22. key — the most important part
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — to cut

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