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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. mate — to breed
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. land — ground
  23. net — after costs
  24. cell — in biology

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