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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: track · clip · rule · firm · kid · bass · net · bear

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rule — government
  3. kid — child
  4. track — a song
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. firm — a company
  11. track — a path
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. net — in sport
  18. firm — decided
  19. net — after costs
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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