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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — a series
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — humankind
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. clip — a video
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rest — what's left
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rest — a break
  15. bass — low music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rest — what's left
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. dip — to sink
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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