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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 120 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 · pop · net · bass · board · arm · squash · bark

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. board — to get on
  4. pop — to visit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. squash — the sport
  10. board — a committee
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. net — for catching
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. clip — for paper
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bark — to shout
  22. squash — to crush
  23. net — in sport
  24. bass — low music

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