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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: bass · cap · leaves · bat · vault · march · fork · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bass — low music
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. march — music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. clip — to cut
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fork — in a road
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — of ice

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