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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. clip — for paper
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. track — to keep track
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — to bear
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. cap — a lid
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bass — low music
  24. clip — to cut

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