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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 120 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. rash — a series
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — money
  19. bass — low music
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a city

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