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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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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: chest · bass · clip · band · firm · coach · ruler · snap

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. bass — the fish
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. chest — a box
  6. snap — to click
  7. firm — a company
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. firm — decided
  11. bass — low music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. clip — a video
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. band — a music group
  18. firm — steady
  19. band — a ring
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. band — a rubber band
  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