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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. net — for catching
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bank — for money
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. craft — a skill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — in football
  13. bank — of a river
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bank — for money
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. craft — boats
  21. net — in sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. net — after costs

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