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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — a video
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fall — the season
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish

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