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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fine — high quality
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — a video
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. board — a committee
  9. key — in music
  10. fine — all right
  11. bass — low music
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — after costs
  16. bass — the fish
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cold — an illness

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