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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. charge — in control
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. charge — electricity
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — for catching
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mug — a face
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mug — a cup
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. march — music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — to recline
  24. charge — a price

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