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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chip — for betting
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — a video
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chip — to eat
  9. kick — in football
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitch — completely
  12. net — in sport
  13. bass — the fish
  14. season — in sport
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bass — low music
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. season — of the year
  24. pitch — a sales talk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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