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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — after costs
  4. staff — a stick
  5. current — electric
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. lie — to recline
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. current — of water
  13. staff — employees
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. net — in sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — employees
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. net — for catching
  22. row — a line
  23. current — happening now
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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