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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: fan · field · bass · row · wake · stock · squash · clip

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. clip — a video
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bass — low music

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