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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — all right
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — help
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fine — high quality
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — a position

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