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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. hand — in cards
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. hand — help
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — for catching
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. net — in sport
  15. kick — in football
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. vault — a safe
  19. face — to confront
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. face — to point toward
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. press — newspapers

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