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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · fork · mine · mark · fine · bass · lash · clip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bass — the fish
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. clip — a video
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bass — low music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — all right
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a match
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mark — a trace
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. fork — in a road

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