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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: race · wound · bass · pitcher · cabinet · dip · march · clip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. race — a contest
  6. wound — an injury
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the fish
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. dip — to dunk

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