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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · deal · bass · wind · safe · clip · chair · prune

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. chair — a leader
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — a video
  6. wind — moving air
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bass — the fish
  10. dip — to sink
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bass — low music
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. clip — for paper
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wind — moving air

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