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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: shower · stand · field · scale · track · clip · bass · chair

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bass — low music
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. shower — to wash
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. scale — in music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. track — a song
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stand — to bear
  17. track — a path
  18. chair — a leader
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — a subject

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