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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. net — in sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. season — of the year
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — a video
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stand — to bear
  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