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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: can · patient · bass · club · clip · perch · roll · stock

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. roll — a list
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. clip — a video
  10. roll — a cake
  11. clip — for paper
  12. club — for dancing
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. can — a tin
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. can — to be able to
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. can — a tin
  21. club — a group
  22. stock — shares
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stock — goods

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