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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.

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: pop · mine · fan · bass · clip · leaves · arm · hand

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bass — low music
  3. pop — music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. clip — for paper
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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