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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. net — for catching
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — a weight
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — in sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — to cut

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