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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. file — a line of people
  4. hand — help
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ball — a dance
  8. hand — in cards
  9. dip — to sink
  10. ball — a great time
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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