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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. kick — in football
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. clip — a video
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stand — to bear
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — the amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. wake — before a funeral

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