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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — to cut
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bass — the fish
  21. swing — to play on
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cap — a hat
  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