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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — low music
  3. mug — a cup
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — a video
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. last — final
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mug — a face
  13. kid — child
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. sharp — clever
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. last — to go on
  23. mug — to rob
  24. sharp — with an edge

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