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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a document
  12. snap — to click
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bass — the fish
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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