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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: wound · pit · cabinet · fall · racket · clip · spell · bass

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — magic
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fall — the season
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bass — the fish
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. clip — for paper
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spell — letters

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