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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — low music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. present — the time now
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. board — a committee
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. clip — a video
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. present — there
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. present — a gift

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