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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 124 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — to cut
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. race — a contest
  16. drill — the tool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. drill — army training
  19. squash — to crush
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. race — humankind
  23. bass — low music
  24. mine — for digging

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