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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. board — to get on
  3. face — to confront
  4. pop — soda
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pop — music
  9. tube — a container
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bass — low music
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. stock — shares
  19. clip — for paper
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. board — a committee
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. clip — a video

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