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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bass — the fish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — of water
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. foot — a measure
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. spring — the season
  24. bass — low music

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