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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. suit — in cards
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — the fish
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. suit — clothes
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. net — in sport
  14. bass — low music
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. suit — to fit
  17. net — for catching
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. net — after costs
  24. straw — dry grass

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