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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. staff — employees
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — a video
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bass — low music
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stand — for spectators

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