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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. clip — a video
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — in sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. staff — employees
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. staff — employees
  20. race — humankind
  21. shower — rain
  22. net — for catching
  23. staff — a stick
  24. race — the arms race

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