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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 116 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: bank · clip · board · track · bass · pass · cold · rash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bank — of a river
  7. board — to get on
  8. rash — a series
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. clip — to cut
  12. track — a path
  13. cold — an illness
  14. board — a committee
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pass — a permit
  20. track — to keep track
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — a video
  24. bank — for money

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