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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. degree — from a university
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. mate — a partner
  6. net — after costs
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — for golf
  10. net — in sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. sharp — clever
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — a country
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mate — to breed
  19. club — for dancing
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. land — ground
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — for paper
  24. land — to come down

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