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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rest — what's left
  3. last — to go on
  4. season — of the year
  5. net — in sport
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. net — for catching
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — a video
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — final
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — finally
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kid — child
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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