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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. object — a thing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. net — in sport
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. object — to protest
  8. net — for catching
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — of the year
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tube — a container
  15. clip — to cut
  16. object — an aim
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. season — in sport
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — a video
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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