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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. game — a match
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cue — for pool
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. clip — a video
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — for paper

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