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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.

Make a worksheet

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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468
Word bank
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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. clip — a video
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — the most important part
  18. kick — in football
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — all right
  21. bass — low music
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bass — the instrument

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