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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
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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: cold · perch · spell · staff · bass · bear · clip · stick

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — not warm
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. staff — employees
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. clip — for paper
  21. staff — employees
  22. spell — a short time
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bear — the animal

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