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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 116 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 was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. clip — to cut
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. prune — to trim
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stand — to bear
  18. clip — a video
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — for paper

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