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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. last — to go on
  3. net — in sport
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pit — a hole
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. last — final
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. last — finally
  24. net — for catching

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