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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: court · cabinet · bay · drill · clip · wake · bass · land

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. clip — for paper
  8. land — ground
  9. court — of law
  10. drill — the tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — to cut
  14. land — a country
  15. bass — low music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. drill — a practice
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. drill — army training
  23. land — to come down
  24. cabinet — ministers

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