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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: leaves · wound · bass · clip · season · straw · fall · staff

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — of the year
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. clip — a video
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — to cut
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. staff — employees
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. season — in sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bass — low music
  24. leaves — lets stay

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