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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. clip — a video
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — a law
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a lid
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rule — government
  24. chest — of your body

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