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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fine — all right
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bass — the fish
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. swing — music
  10. rule — a law
  11. bass — low music
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. club — a group
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. club — for golf
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rule — government
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fine — high quality
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — a video

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