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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. race — the arms race
  4. net — for catching
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wound — an injury
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — a video
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — a contest
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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