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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. suit — to fit
  3. sharp — clever
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mine — for digging
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. suit — in cards
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mug — to rob
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. mug — a face
  17. suit — clothes
  18. mug — a cup
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bass — the fish
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. clip — a video

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