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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. net — for catching
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. tube — the underground
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mine — for digging
  13. clip — a video
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. clip — to cut
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — for paper
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tube — a container
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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