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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: lean · fan · clip · last · bass · calf · ground · game

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ground — crushed
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — a position
  8. lean — thin
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ground — the earth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — finally
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. clip — a video
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. calf — a young animal
  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