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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — a match
  3. rule — government
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. net — after costs
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. clip — a video
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pass — a permit
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bass — low music
  17. season — in sport
  18. net — in sport
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. net — for catching
  21. rule — a law
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. season — of the year
  24. nail — for a hammer

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