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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bass — low music
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. land — ground
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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