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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 116 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
468
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: clip · content · fan · bass · key · mine · drill · bark

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. content — the amount
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. clip — to cut
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. key — in music
  24. drill — the tool

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