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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
468
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 · clip · bass · mark · content · bowl · shower · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — low music
  3. game — a match
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. shower — rain
  7. mark — a grade
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. swing — to play on
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — to wash
  14. clip — a video
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — the amount
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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