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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. charge — a price
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. net — in sport
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — in control
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rash — a series
  21. charge — electricity
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hand — help
  24. bowl — a dish

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