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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bass — the fish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — low music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. track — a song
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — to cut
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lean — thin
  15. court — for sport
  16. suit — in cards
  17. track — to keep track
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. suit — to fit
  23. lean — to bend
  24. court — of law

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