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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. net — for catching
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — in cards
  6. net — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mate — a friend
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. net — after costs
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mate — to breed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mate — a partner
  19. staff — employees
  20. pop — to visit
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pop — soda
  23. hand — help
  24. pop — music

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