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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: track · land · dip · spring · bowl · clip · sharp · bass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. land — to come down
  4. spring — a coil
  5. sharp — clever
  6. dip — to sink
  7. track — a song
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bass — the fish
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. track — to keep track
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — a path
  18. spring — of water
  19. bass — low music
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bowl — a football final

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