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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — a gift
  5. mug — a face
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bass — low music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. present — the time now
  16. mug — a cup
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. cue — a hint
  23. present — there
  24. last — final

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