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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fall — the season
  4. bass — low music
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — a video
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — the fish
  13. branch — a division
  14. fall — to drop
  15. foot — a measure
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cabinet — ministers

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