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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — a match
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. file — a tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. clip — for paper
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. file — a document
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bass — the fish
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  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