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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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. hide — animal skin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — a video
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. board — a committee
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — for catching
  19. key — the most important part
  20. board — to get on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. key — in music
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — in sport

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