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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fall — the season
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — a video
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bass — low music
  12. bank — for money
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bank — for money
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bank — of a river
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chip — in a computer

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