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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 124 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. march — the month
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bass — the fish
  5. club — for golf
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — the month
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — music
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bass — low music
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. march — music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pop — soda
  24. club — for dancing

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