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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bass — low music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. net — for catching
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. net — after costs
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. shower — rain
  15. roll — a list
  16. bass — the fish
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. toast — bread
  23. shower — to wash
  24. net — in sport

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