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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. drill — a practice
  5. net — for catching
  6. drill — army training
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. craft — a skill
  10. clip — a video
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. plane — a tool
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. race — humankind
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — a contest
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. drill — the tool
  24. craft — boats

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