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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: clip · deal · staff · pop · bark · bass · present · game

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bark — to shout
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. clip — a video
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a match
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — music
  17. present — a gift
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bass — the fish
  21. deal — to handle
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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