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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · bear · stick · net · cell · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. net — after costs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — for catching
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cell — a phone
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — to cut

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