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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — a grade
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. current — of water
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. current — electric
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — for paper
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. clip — a video
  18. mark — a trace
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. sharp — clever
  23. current — happening now
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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