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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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Word bank
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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: bark · clip · kick · bass · rest · stand

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rest — a break
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bass — low music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football

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