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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. craft — boats
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. craft — a skill
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rock — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. face — to confront
  16. saw — the tool
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rock — a stone
  23. net — for catching
  24. face — to point toward

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