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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. tube — the underground
  3. face — to confront
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bass — low music
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tube — a container
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. face — to point toward
  23. clip — a video
  24. fan — a supporter

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