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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. clip — a video
  6. fine — high quality
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. field — a subject
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. degree — from a university
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — of the year
  22. net — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mouse — the animal

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