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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. club — for golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — clothes
  5. clip — a video
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pit — a hole
  8. suit — to fit
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pit — in a race
  13. club — a group
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. net — for catching
  17. mug — a cup
  18. present — a gift
  19. club — for dancing
  20. mug — a face
  21. net — in sport
  22. present — the time now
  23. net — after costs
  24. present — there

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