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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 120 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. bass — low music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — a contest
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. scale — in music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — a video
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. scale — size or range

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