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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. net — after costs
  4. scale — in music
  5. net — for catching
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. band — a music group
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. race — a contest
  10. clip — a video
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. race — the arms race
  14. net — in sport
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. scale — size or range
  22. lie — to recline
  23. clip — to cut
  24. race — humankind

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