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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. swing — in golf
  7. current — electric
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. swing — to play on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. current — happening now
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. swing — music
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — a city
  23. clip — for paper
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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