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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: dip · land · board · clip · fan · rash · cap · bass

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. dip — to sink
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — the fish
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. rash — a series
  14. land — a country
  15. board — a committee
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — to cut
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — a video
  21. cap — a lid
  22. clip — for paper
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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