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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stand — to bear
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bass — low music
  24. stand — for spectators

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