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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — a video
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. net — in sport
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a line of people
  11. net — after costs
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — final
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a document
  18. charge — a price
  19. clip — to cut
  20. charge — electricity
  21. row — to paddle
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. charge — in control

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