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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mine — for digging
  4. game — a match
  5. bass — low music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — of ice
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. tube — a container
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — a video
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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