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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. roll — a cake
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bark — to shout
  7. race — the arms race
  8. clip — a video
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — a song
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. track — a path
  18. roll — a list
  19. race — a contest
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. 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