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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. last — finally
  8. bass — the fish
  9. chest — a box
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. last — final
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fine — all right
  18. stand — to bear
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bass — low music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — a video

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