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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
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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: clip · spell · mine · suit · object · net · roll · cell

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — for digging
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — in cards
  5. object — to protest
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — clothes
  9. net — for catching
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a list
  13. cell — in biology
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — a phone
  16. object — a thing
  17. spell — magic
  18. object — an aim
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. roll — a cake
  24. mine — belonging to me

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