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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rock — a stone
  7. club — for golf
  8. rock — music
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — low music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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