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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — a position
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bass — the fish
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cell — in biology
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bass — low music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. bulb — for light

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