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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — to go on
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bound — certain
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — final
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bound — tied together
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — a video
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — finally
  20. club — for dancing
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bass — low music
  23. club — a group
  24. bound — obliged

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