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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. saw — the tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — in sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. net — for catching
  9. clip — to cut
  10. land — ground
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rock — a stone
  14. charge — electricity
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — a video
  17. rock — music
  18. charge — a price
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. charge — in control
  24. saw — the tool

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