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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: deal · bark · file · clip · swing · pitcher · drill · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a tool
  5. deal — to handle
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. swing — music
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — the tool
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bark — to shout
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. drill — army training
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. file — a line of people

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