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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 120 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: shower · cabinet · hand · bass · rush · leaves · bound · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bound — tied together
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bound — certain
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. hand — in cards
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bass — low music
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bound — obliged
  22. hand — help
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. clip — a video

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