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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — in golf
  9. face — to point toward
  10. net — after costs
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. net — for catching
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — tied together
  19. swing — music
  20. face — to confront
  21. bass — low music
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bass — the fish
  24. prune — the fruit

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