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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ball — a dance
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — help
  24. ball — a round shape

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