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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. net — in sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — a video
  9. face — to confront
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bank — for money
  13. hand — in cards
  14. snap — to click
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cell — a phone
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bank — for money
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bank — of a river

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