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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. clip — a video
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bass — low music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. plane — a tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. roll — a list

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