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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — for paper
  4. land — ground
  5. clip — a video
  6. chip — to eat
  7. board — to get on
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chip — for betting
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. land — to come down
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — to cut
  23. board — a committee
  24. fork — in a road

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