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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. sharp — clever
  3. net — after costs
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — decided
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — wild animals
  23. firm — steady
  24. ruler — a monarch

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