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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. clip — a video
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mine — for digging
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rush — hurry
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bass — low music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hide — animal skin

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