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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.

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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. file — a document
  5. season — of the year
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. band — a ring
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a trace
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a music group
  16. rush — hurry
  17. season — in sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bass — low music
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mark — a grade
  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