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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. game — a match
  3. mine — for digging
  4. board — a committee
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — for paper
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — a video
  11. bass — the fish
  12. foot — a measure
  13. board — to get on
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rule — a law
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. rule — government

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