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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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 — low music
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. net — in sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — in a road
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — to go on
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. net — after costs
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hand — help
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  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