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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. drill — army training
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rock — music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. net — after costs
  17. rock — a stone
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pit — a hole
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. bass — the fish

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