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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. track — a path
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bass — the fish
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — a song
  11. bass — low music
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. sharp — clever
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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