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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cue · present · net · chip · field · bass · clip · straw

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bass — low music
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. present — a gift
  6. clip — to cut
  7. present — the time now
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chip — for betting
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cue — a signal
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — to eat
  15. field — farmland
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — for paper
  20. net — after costs
  21. cue — a hint
  22. present — there
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. net — for catching

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