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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — all right
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bass — the fish
  9. clip — a video
  10. chest — a box
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mug — to rob
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mug — a cup
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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