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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bass — low music
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. clip — a video

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