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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — help
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fine — all right
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bass — the fish
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bass — low music

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