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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: clip · last · cap · firm · jam · bark · chip · bass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bass — low music
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — of ice
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. last — final
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cap — a lid
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. last — finally
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chip — to eat

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