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

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the fish
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — crushed
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. ground — a position
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ground — the earth
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. leaves — lets stay

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