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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. drill — army training
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. clip — to cut
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — in football
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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