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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: file · bass · season · mark · clip · current · band · swing

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — of the year
  5. current — happening now
  6. band — a ring
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bass — low music
  12. current — electric
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — music
  15. season — in sport
  16. file — a document
  17. current — of water
  18. file — a line of people
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a music group
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bass — the fish

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