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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bass — low music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. present — there
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — rain
  20. rule — a law
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pop — music
  24. clip — to cut

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