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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: mine · bass · fan · clip · wax · cap · ball · march

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bass — low music
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a great time
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cap — of ice
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bass — the fish
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ball — a dance
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wax — to grow

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