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

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. clip — a video
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cabinet — ministers

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