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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: scale · lie · chair · hand · net · sharp · land · clip

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — in music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — a country
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — size or range
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. lie — to recline
  16. net — in sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. net — for catching
  23. land — ground
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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