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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. net — for catching
  6. clip — to cut
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bay — a horse colour

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