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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — low music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bass — the fish
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. pitch — completely
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mine — for digging
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cell — a phone
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. craft — boats

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