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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — happy

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