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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pop — soda
  4. charge — in control
  5. pop — music
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. game — wild animals
  8. charge — electricity
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. net — after costs
  13. court — of law
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. net — for catching
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. charge — a price
  19. court — of a king
  20. kick — in football
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pop — to visit

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