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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 · swing · stand · bark · bass · band · pitcher · net

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. band — a music group
  8. bass — the fish
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — for paper
  15. swing — in golf
  16. net — after costs
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — in sport
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bark — of a tree

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