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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mate — a partner
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. club — for golf
  9. fine — all right
  10. spell — letters
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — a friend
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fine — high quality
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — magic
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. club — for dancing
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. club — a group
  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