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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. clip — a video
  4. rock — a stone
  5. snap — to click
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — a gift
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rock — music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — for paper
  24. present — the time now

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