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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — low music
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fall — the season
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — a video
  24. rest — a break

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