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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — a video
  3. bass — low music
  4. last — final
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. last — to go on
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — an illness
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — to cut
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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