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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lean — thin
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fall — the season
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bass — low music
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bass — the fish

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