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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fine — high quality
  3. clip — a video
  4. bass — the fish
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fine — all right
  9. bass — low music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — temperature
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. degree — an amount

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