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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: dip · board · cold · clip · pound · patient · squash · bass

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pound — a weight
  6. squash — to crush
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bass — low music
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. clip — for paper
  12. board — to get on
  13. bass — the fish
  14. dip — to sink
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. board — a committee
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — an illness
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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