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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. object — an aim
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stock — goods
  7. spring — of water
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. spring — the season
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rash — hasty
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — to protest
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. object — a thing
  18. rash — a series

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