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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bank — for money
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. net — in sport
  5. race — humankind
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. net — after costs
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bank — of a river
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — temperature
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — a contest
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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