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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. net — in sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — for catching
  7. bass — low music
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. chest — a box
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for dancing
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. drill — the tool
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. clip — a video

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