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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 · cold · lash · track · bass · field · cap · stick

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. track — a path
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — to keep track
  10. field — for sport
  11. bass — the fish
  12. track — a song
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — to cut
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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