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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bass — low music
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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