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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. board — a committee
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — a video
  8. board — to get on
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chip — to eat
  11. net — in sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lie — to recline
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lie — an untruth

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