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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 · wind · stem · chip · key · wave · wake · clip

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chip — to eat
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wind — moving air
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. key — in music
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bass — low music
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. key — the most important part
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. clip — a video
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stem — a stem cell

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