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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — the tool
  7. branch — a division
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. drill — army training
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bass — low music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chest — of your body
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chest — a box

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