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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tube — the underground
  6. content — happy
  7. tube — a container
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. content — the amount
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. clip — for paper
  24. deal — to handle

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