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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.

Make a worksheet

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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bass — low music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the fish
  5. court — for sport
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — of law
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of a king
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wound — an injury

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