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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. degree — an amount
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. capital — a city
  20. saw — the tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — temperature
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bass — low music

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