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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. clip — a video
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chip — for betting
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bass — low music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. jam — a tight spot

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