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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — a video
  3. race — humankind
  4. court — for sport
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — low music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. race — a contest
  19. swing — music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bass — the fish
  24. band — a rubber band

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