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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: bay · spell · rush · swing · bass · chest · tube · clip

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — in golf
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — a container
  18. swing — music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rush — hurry
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bass — low music
  23. chest — a box
  24. spell — magic

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