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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. can — a tin
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a document
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mine — for digging
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. net — for catching
  16. toast — bread
  17. can — a tin
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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