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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: staff · straw · plane · bowl · spring · bass · nail · clip

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — the fish
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — a video
  7. plane — a tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bass — low music
  11. staff — employees
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spring — of water
  20. staff — a stick
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — the season
  24. nail — for a hammer

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