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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. firm — steady
  5. kick — in football
  6. clip — a video
  7. hand — help
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. current — electric
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. current — of water
  14. bass — the fish
  15. firm — a company
  16. hand — in cards
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. firm — decided
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. field — farmland
  24. bass — low music

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