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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. clip — a video
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rock — music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. tube — a container
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — for paper
  16. capital — money
  17. face — to confront
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bass — low music

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