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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. net — after costs
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. net — in sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. net — for catching
  19. craft — boats
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — for paper
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. game — wild animals

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