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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — a video
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — for paper
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — in sport
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. bass — the fish
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ball — a dance
  22. kid — child
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hand — help

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