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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: temple · toast · straw · clip · field · drill · deal · bass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. drill — army training
  9. deal — to handle
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — to cut
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bass — low music
  16. toast — bread
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. deal — an agreement

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