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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. suit — to fit
  4. court — of a king
  5. clip — to cut
  6. staff — employees
  7. suit — clothes
  8. file — a line of people
  9. staff — employees
  10. game — wild animals
  11. court — for sport
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a document
  14. clip — a video
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. staff — a stick
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. court — of law
  22. net — for catching
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a tool

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