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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fine — high quality
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — for paper
  5. race — humankind
  6. bass — the fish
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fine — all right
  15. clip — a video
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — a contest
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — to grow
  24. fall — to drop

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