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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wound — an injury
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. hand — in cards
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — help
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — a video
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bass — the fish
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wound — an injury

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