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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: net · bass · cold · court · stand · pass · stick · clip

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. net — for catching
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — the fish
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stand — to bear
  19. net — after costs
  20. bass — low music
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — an illness

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