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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — for catching
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. net — in sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. board — to get on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — all right
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — a video
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. band — a ring
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. board — a committee
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hide — to keep secret

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