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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. drill — army training
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — a video
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bass — the fish

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