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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: bass · saw · season · squash · present · clip · pitcher · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. present — a gift
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — for paper
  17. present — there
  18. bass — low music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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