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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bass — low music
  3. file — a tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hand — help
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bass — the fish
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wake — a trail

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