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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rule — a law
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. clip — a video
  5. game — a match
  6. bass — low music
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — for sport
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. clip — for paper
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — of a king
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rule — government
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. clip — to cut
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — of law
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bass — the instrument

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