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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: cell · face · bass · patient · straw · sharp · clip · scale

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bass — low music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. clip — to cut
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — a phone
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bass — the fish
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — in biology
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — to point toward
  22. sharp — clever
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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