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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — a video
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. net — in sport
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. key — for a lock
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. net — for catching
  16. firm — a company
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. degree — from a university
  24. key — in 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