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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: clip · jam · chair · bass · net · fall

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — for paper
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. net — in sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — the season
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bass — low music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — to cut
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. net — for catching
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. net — after costs

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