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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bass — low music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — a break
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pop — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — a video
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rest — what's left
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pop — soda
  24. bear — the animal

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