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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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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 · toast · cap · bank · last · patient · clip · vault

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. last — finally
  4. bass — the fish
  5. clip — a video
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bank — for money
  9. cap — a hat
  10. last — to go on
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — final
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bank — for money
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. toast — bread
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bank — of a river

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