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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. net — in sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — the cause
  19. pitch — completely
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pass — a permit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. root — of a plant
  24. net — after costs

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