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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. can — a tin
  5. charge — a price
  6. bass — low music
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — electricity
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. clip — a video
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. face — part of the head
  18. clip — for paper
  19. charge — in control
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. spring — of water
  24. bark — to shout

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