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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — a break
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cell — in biology
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bass — low 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