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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stand — to bear
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fine — all right
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — low music
  24. sharp — clever

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