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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. band — a music group
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rash — a series
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. rash — hasty
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — a phone
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a ring
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bass — low music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cell — in a prison

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