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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: bear · hand · club · trunk · kick · clip · fall · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fall — the season
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hand — help
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — in football
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. clip — a video
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bass — low music
  24. bear — the animal

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