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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · wind · clip · trunk · squash · face · bass · calf

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — low music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. face — to confront
  19. squash — to crush
  20. mine — for digging
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. clip — to cut

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