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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. firm — steady
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of a king
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bound — certain
  15. court — of law
  16. firm — a company
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — for sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bound — tied together
  21. firm — decided
  22. bass — low music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chair — to sit on

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