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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — to cut
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bass — low music
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bass — the fish
  20. lie — to recline
  21. race — humankind
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — a video

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