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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. clip — to cut
  12. charge — a price
  13. bass — low music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. charge — electricity
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. clip — a video
  21. bass — the fish
  22. charge — in control
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bass — the instrument

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