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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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. board — a committee
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pass — a permit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. board — to get on

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