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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. band — a music group
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — for paper
  24. band — a ring

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