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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cell — in biology
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rock — music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — army training

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