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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. firm — a company
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bass — low music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. firm — decided
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — the tool
  17. firm — steady
  18. pit — a hole
  19. clip — a video
  20. drill — army training
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bass — the instrument

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