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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. suit — clothes
  3. object — to protest
  4. suit — to fit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. object — an aim
  7. kid — child
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. object — a thing
  17. chair — a leader
  18. face — to confront
  19. suit — in cards
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bass — low music
  23. game — a match
  24. face — to point toward

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