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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: swing · bat · bass · temple · march · clip · foot · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — in golf
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — a hat
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. swing — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. foot — a measure
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the fish
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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