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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tear — to rip
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. net — for catching
  13. key — the most important part
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wake — a trail
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a line
  24. vault — a safe

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