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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kick — in football
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. root — of a word
  14. band — a music group
  15. mug — to rob
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — for catching
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. root — the cause
  23. net — after costs
  24. root — of a plant

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