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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. board — to get on
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of law
  7. wake — a trail
  8. court — of a king
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a committee
  18. cap — a hat
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bass — low music
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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