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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — a subject
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bass — low music
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — for sport
  18. fall — the season
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. field — farmland
  21. season — of the year
  22. bass — the fish
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — a sauce

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