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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: ground · temple · bass · scale · clip · fall · stock · game

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. stock — goods
  3. ground — the earth
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. scale — in music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — crushed
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — low music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stock — shares
  19. game — a match
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ground — a position
  23. game — wild animals
  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