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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — after costs
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ball — a dance
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. ball — a great time
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bear — the animal
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. net — in sport

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