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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.

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: date · drill · bass · squash · land · leaves · snap · clip

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bass — the fish
  3. land — a country
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. drill — army training
  6. date — the fruit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to click
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. squash — the sport
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bass — low music
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. squash — the vegetable

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