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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 · bear · wave · bass · land · prune · chair · bank

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — the fish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bank — for money
  5. bass — low music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. land — a country
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — ground
  14. bank — of a river
  15. land — to come down
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bank — for money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bass — the instrument

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