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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bass — low music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rash — a series
  13. ball — a great time
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rash — hasty
  16. kid — to tease
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — child
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — in an idiom

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